Method for controlling external device and transmitting apparatus and receiving apparatus thereof

ABSTRACT

A method for controlling an external device and a signal transmitting and receiving apparatus thereof. The method for controlling an external device in a receiving apparatus that receives media signals from a transmitting apparatus connected through a wireless network, includes according to an embodiment: receiving information on the external devices connected to the transmitting apparatus from the transmitting apparatus; and displaying the external devices connected to the transmitting apparatus by using the received information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(a), this application claims the benefit ofearlier filing date and right of priority to Korean Application No.10-2009-0082187 filed on Sep. 1, 2009, Korean Application No.10-2009-0082197 filed on Sep. 1, 2009, and Korean Application No.10-2009-0089320 filed on Sep. 22, 2009, the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method for controlling an externaldevice and a signal transmitting and receiving apparatus thereof, andmore specifically, to a method for controlling an external device in anapparatus for transmitting and receiving media signals by using awireless network.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

In general, a display apparatus may include a receiving unit thatreceives media signals including video and audio from a broadcastingsystem, a cable system, and other external devices (VCR, DVD, etc.) andprocesses and outputs the received media signals and a display unit thatdisplays the video of the processed media signals on a screen.

Meanwhile, the receiving unit and the display unit may be integrated ormay be separated from each other. In recent years, a wireless typedisplay system has been provided, which transmits the media signalsreceived by using an additional receiving apparatus to the displayapparatus through wireless communication and displays the transmittedmedia signals on the screen.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a method forcontrolling an external device in a receiving apparatus that receivesmedia signals from a transmitting apparatus connected through a wirelessnetwork, the method including: receiving information on the externaldevices connected to the transmitting apparatus from the transmittingapparatus; and displaying the external devices connected to thetransmitting apparatus by using the received information.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a method forcontrolling an external device, the method including: displaying atleast one external device that is connected to the transmittingapparatus; receiving remote control signals for the external devices;extracting data for controlling the external devices from the receivedremote control signals; and transmitting the extracted control data tothe transmitting apparatus by using the wireless network.

Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides a receivingapparatus for receiving media signals from a transmitting apparatus byusing a wireless network, including: a control signal receiving unitthat receives remote control signals for external devices connected tothe transmitting apparatus; a band pass filter that extracts a basebandsignal among the received remote control signals; a signal processingunit that converts and outputs control data included in the basebandsignal; and an RF transmitting/receiving unit that transmits the controldata output from the signal processing unit to the transmittingapparatus.

Still yet another embodiment of the present invention provides atransmitting apparatus that is connected to external devices to transmitmedia signals to a receiving apparatus by using a wireless network,including: an RF transmitting/receiving unit that receives control datafor the external devices from the receiving apparatus by using thewireless network; a control signal generation unit that generates remotecontrol signals for controlling the external devices by using thereceived control data; and a control signal transmitting unit thattransmits the generated remote control signals to the external devices.

A display apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention may include the receiving apparatus.

Meanwhile, the method for controlling an external device may beimplemented by a computer-readable recording media on which a programexecuted in the computer is recorded.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent upon consideration of the followingdescription of preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing figures.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration ofa signal transmitting/receiving system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of atransmitting/receiving system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a transmittingapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a receivingapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling an externaldevice according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling an externaldevice according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a code format of aninfrared signal.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of atransmitting/receiving system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of atransmitting/receiving system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the method fordisplaying information on external devices;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling an externaldevice according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the method fordisplaying information on external devices;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of atransmitting/receiving system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the method fordisplaying information on external devices;

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the method fordisplaying information on external devices; and

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of atransmitting/receiving system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a method for controlling an external device and atransmitting apparatus, a receiving apparatus, and a display apparatusthereof according to embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a configurationof a transmitting/receiving system. The transmitting/receiving systemmay include a transmitting apparatus 100 and a receiving apparatus 200.

Referring to FIG. 1, the transmitting apparatus 100 receives mediasignals including video and audio from a broadcasting system, a cablesystem, or external devices and converts the received media signals intodata in a wireless transmittable format and wirelessly transmits thedata.

The receiving apparatus 200 receives and processes data wirelesslytransmitted from the transmitting apparatus 100. For this, one or morewireless communication schemes for wirelessly transmitting and receivingdata may be previously established between the transmitting apparatus100 and the receiving apparatus 200.

Meanwhile, the transmitting apparatus 100 includes various inputterminals such as a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) terminalconnected with an antenna or external devices, a universal serial bus(USB) terminal, a component terminal, an external input terminal, an RGBterminal, an antenna cable terminal, etc. and can receive the mediasignals by using the input terminals

For example, the media signals may include broadcasting signals receivedby using the antenna, a cable, or the like or video signals and audiosignals received from connected external devices in the transmittingapparatus 100.

The transmitting apparatus 100 may be a set-top box (STB) that receivesthe media signals by using a wired or wireless network and converts andwirelessly transmits the received media signal to the receivingapparatus 200.

However, the transmitting apparatus 100 according to the embodiment ofthe present invention is not limited to the set-top box (STB) and mayinclude all kinds of apparatuses that can receive the media signalstransmitted from the outside and wirelessly transmit the received mediasignals to the receiving apparatus 200

For example, the transmitting apparatus 100 according to the embodimentof the present invention may be included in a computer or a portableterminal such as a cellular phone, etc.

Further, the receiving apparatus 200 can receive and process the datawirelessly transmitted from the transmitting apparatus 100 and then, cantransmit the data to external devices that output the video or audioincluded in the media signals.

For example, the receiving apparatus 200 can convert the video signalwirelessly transmitted from the transmitting apparatus 100 into adisplayable format and output the video signal on a display apparatus(not shown) More specifically, when the video signal wirelesslytransmitted from the transmitting apparatus 100 is encoded by a codingscheme such as an MPEG, etc., the receiving apparatus 200 can decode thereceived video signal and output the decoded video signal to the displayapparatus (not shown).

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the transmittingapparatus 100 and the receiving apparatus 200 can transmit and receivethe media signals by using various wireless communication schemes, forexample, wireless communication schemes such as wireless HD (WiHD),wireless home digital interface (WHDi), wireless Lan (WiFi), etc

The WiHD uses a frequency band of approximately 60 GHz and can transmitand receive data at transmission rate of approximately 4 Gbps, therebymaking it possible to transmit HD video data of 1080p (1902×1080)without compression. However, the WiHD uses high frequency of 60GHz-band, such that a data transmitting/receiving distance isapproximately 10 m and the transmission/reception quality may be easilyinfluenced by obstacles in the vicinity of an installation space

The WHDi can transmit and receive the data at transmission rate ofapproximately 1.8 Gbps by using a frequency band of approximately 5 GHzFurther, the WHDi uses a relatively low high frequency band of 5 GHz,such that the data transmitting/receiving distance is approximately 30 mand the transmission/reception quality may not greatly be influenced bythe obstacles in the vicinity of the installation space. Meanwhile, whenthe HD video data of 1080p (1920×1080) is transmitted by using the WHDiat the transmission rate of approximately 1.8 Gbps, the transmittingapparatus 100 needs to partially compress and transmit the HD videodata.

Further, the WiFi can transmit and receive the data at transmission rateof approximately 54 Mbp by using a frequency band of approximately 2.4GHz. The WiFi uses a low high frequency band of 2.4 GHz, such that thedata transmitting/receiving distance is approximately 50 to 200 m andthe transmission/reception quality may not almost be influenced by theobstacles in the vicinity of the installation space. Meanwhile, when theHD video data of 1080p (1920×1080) is transmitted by using the WiFi at alow transmission rate of approximately 54 Mbps, the transmittingapparatus 100 needs to compress and transmit the HD video data and as aresult, the image quality of the video signal received in the receivingapparatus 200 may be deteriorated.

Meanwhile, the transmitting apparatus 100 and the receiving apparatus200 can wirelessly transmit and receive the data for the media signalsby using various short-range wireless communication schemes, forexample, communication schemes such as Bluetooth, ZigBee, or binary codedivision multiple access (CDMA), etc. in addition to the above-mentionedwireless communication schemes.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the transmittingapparatus 100 and the receiving apparatus 200 can transmit video andaudio data by using any one of various wireless communication schemes asdescribed above

Meanwhile, the transmitting apparatus 100 and the receiving apparatus200 may transmit and receive the video and audio data by using two ormore schemes of the above-mentioned wireless communication schemes, forexample, any one of two or more supportable schemes is selectedaccording to the performance, installation environment, videoresolution, etc. of each of the transmitting apparatus 100 and thereceiving apparatus 200 to be used for data transmission/reception.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of atransmitting/receiving system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. The system may include a transmitting apparatus 100, areceiving apparatus 200, an external device 300, and a remote controller400. In components of the transmitting/receiving system shown in FIG. 2,the same components as ones described by referring to FIG. 1 will not bedescribed below.

Referring to FIG. 2, the transmitting apparatus 100 and the receivingapparatus 200 can transmit and receive data by using a wirelesscommunication scheme, i.e., WiHD, WHDi, WiFi, or the like.

The transmitting apparatus 100 may be connected to the external device300. The transmitting apparatus 100 may receive a video signal and anaudio signal from the external device 300. For this, the transmittingapparatus 100 may include input/output terminals such as an HDMI, a USB,a component, an RGB, etc. for transmitting and receiving data to andfrom the external device 300.

Meanwhile, the external device 300 may be various devices including avideo playing device such as a DVD player, a Dvix player, a blue-rayplayer, or the like, a set-top box such as an IPTV set-top box, a cableset-top box, a satellite set-top box, or the like, a PC, a game machine,a home theater, a portable terminal, a hard disk (HDD) recorder, etc.

However, the external device 300 connected to the transmitting apparatus100 according to any embodiment of the present invention is not limitedto the above-mentioned devices and may include various devices that areconnected to the transmitting apparatus 100 to output media signals suchas the video signal to the transmitting apparatus 100.

The remote controller 400 transmits a remote control signal forcontrolling the receiving apparatus 200 according to a user input andthe receiving apparatus 200 receives the remote control signal from theremote controller 400 to perform an operation corresponding to theremote control signal.

For example, the remote controller 400 may include a plurality of keybuttons for a user's input and may generate and transmit the remotecontrol signal corresponding to user's input for any one of theplurality of key buttons to the receiving apparatus 200.

More specifically, the remote controller 400 may generate and transmitan infrared signal corresponding to the user's key input and thereceiving apparatus 200 may receive the infrared signal and perform anoperation corresponding to the received infrared signal. For this, theremote controller 400 and the receiving apparatus 200 may include an IRtransmitting unit (not shown) and an IR receiving unit (not shown) fortransmitting and receiving the infrared signal, respectively.

However, the present invention is not limited to the transmission andreception of the remote control signal using the above-mentionedinfrared communication scheme and the remote control signal can betransmitted and received between the remote controller 400 and thereceiving apparatus 200 by using various wireless communication methods,for example, a communication method using an RF signal, an opticalsignal, etc., in addition to the infrared communication scheme.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the remotecontroller 400 may transmit the remote control signal for controllingthe external device 300, for example, an infrared signal to thereceiving apparatus 200.

That is, the remote controller 400 may receive key input correspondingto a predetermined operation of the external device 300 from a user, andgenerate and transmit an infrared signal corresponding to the key input.

In this case, the receiving apparatus 200 may receive the infraredsignal for the external device 300 from the remote controller 400 andwirelessly transmit data for controlling the external device 300 that isincluded in the received infrared signal to the transmitting apparatus100.

More specifically, the receiving apparatus 200 may wirelessly transmitcontrol data for the external device 300 to the transmitting apparatus100 by using a wireless network connected to the transmitting apparatus100, for example, the wireless communication scheme such as the WiHD,WHDi, WiFi, or the like for transmitting and receiving the mediasignals.

The transmitting apparatus 100 may wirelessly receive the control datafrom the receiving apparatus 200 and transmit the received control datato the external device 300. Therefore, the external device 300 mayperform an operation corresponding to user's input using the remotecontroller 400.

In general, in order to control the external device 300, thetransmitting apparatus 100, and the receiving apparatus 200 shown inFIG. 2, a plurality of remote control devices corresponding to thedevices, that is, remote controllers need to be used.

Further, in order to control any one device of the devices, the usercarrying a remote controller corresponding to the device moves to alocation adjacent to the device and then, needs to perform key inputcorresponding to his/her desired operation on the remote controller.

Therefore, when the external device 300 is installed far away from thereceiving apparatus 200, the user who watches a broadcast at a locationadjacent to the receiving apparatus 200 may have an inconvenience tomove to the location where the corresponding apparatus is installed inorder to control the external device 300.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the receivingapparatus 200 receives the remote control signal for controlling theexternal device 300 connected to the transmitting apparatus 100 from theremote controller 400 and transmits the control data for the receivedremote control signal to the transmitting apparatus 100 by using thewireless communication scheme connected to the transmitting apparatus100 to allow the corresponding device to perform an operationcorresponding to the remote control signal, such that the user cancontrol the operation of the external device 300 by using the remotecontroller 400 at a location adjacent to the receiving apparatus 200.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a transmittingapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Thetransmitting apparatus 100 may include an interface unit 110, a firstsignal processing unit 120, a first RF transmitting/receiving unit 130,an IR generation unit 140, and an IR transmitting unit 150. Incomponents of the transmitting/receiving apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 3,the same components as ones described by referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 willnot be described below.

Referring to FIG. 3, the interface unit 110 transmits and receives asignal to and from the external device 300 and for this, the interfaceunit 110 may include input terminals such as an HDMI, a USB, acomponent, an RGB, etc. for connecting to the external device 300.

The first signal processing unit 120 may convert signals received fromthe external device 300, for example, a video signal and an audio signalinto data in a wireless transmittable form in accordance with apredetermined wireless communication scheme and then, output theconverted data.

For example, when the signals received from the external device 300 areencoded by a coding scheme such as an MPEG, etc., the first signalprocessing unit 120 may include an A/V processing unit (not shown)decoding the video and audio signals received from the external device300.

The first RF transmitting/receiving unit 130 wirelessly transmits thesignal outputted from the first signal processing unit 120 to thereceiving apparatus 200. For this, the first RF transmitting/receivingunit 130 may include an antenna (not shown) and a converter (not shown),i.e., an up-converter and a down-converter.

Meanwhile, the first RF transmitting/receiving unit 130 may receivecontrol data for controlling the operation of the external device 300from the receiving apparatus 200 by using the wireless communicationscheme, i.e., WiHD, WHDi, WiFi, or the like.

The IR generation unit 140 may generate the remote control signal forcontrolling the operation of the external device 300, that is, aninfrared signal for the control data received from the receivingapparatus 200.

Further, the IR transmitting unit 150 may transmit the infrared signalgenerated by the IR generation unit 140 to the external device 300 andthe external device 300 may perform an operation corresponding to theinfrared signal transmitted from the IR transmitting unit 150 of thetransmitting apparatus 100.

Therefore, the operation of the external device 300 can be controlled byusing the infrared signal that is wirelessly transmitted from thereceiving apparatus 200 that is far away from the external device 300and is received through the transmitting apparatus 100.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, thetransmitting apparatus 100 may transmit the control data wirelesslytransmitted from the receiving apparatus 200 to the external device 300through the interface unit 110.

For example, the first signal processing unit 120 may convert thereceived control data into a signal of a format to be transmitted to theexternal device 300 in accordance with an interface with the externaldevice 300 and output the signal. The interface unit 110 may transmitthe control data processed by the first signal processing unit 120 tothe external device 300.

Accordingly, the external device 300 may receive the control datathrough the interface unit 110 of the transmitting apparatus 100 andperform an operation corresponding to the inputted control data.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a receivingapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Thereceiving apparatus 200 may include a control signal receiving unit, adata extraction unit, a signal processing unit, and an RF transmittingunit.

Referring to FIG. 4, the second RF transmitting/receiving unit 210 maywirelessly receive the media signals, for example, the video signal andthe audio signal from the transmitting apparatus 100 and for this, mayinclude an antenna (not shown) and a converter (not shown), morespecifically, an up-converter and a down-converter.

The second signal processing unit 220 may convert the signal received inthe second RF transmitting/receiving unit 210 into an outputtable formatin a display apparatus (not shown). For example, when the signalreceived from the transmitting apparatus 100 is encoded in accordancewith a coding scheme such as an MPEG, etc., the second signal processingunit 220 may include an A/V processing unit (not shown) decoding thereceived video and audio signals.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the control signalreceiving unit receives the remote control signal for the externaldevice 300 connected to the transmitting apparatus 100 and as shown inFIG. 4, may be configured of an IR receiving unit 240.

The IR receiving unit 240 can receive the infrared signal forcontrolling the operation of the external device 300 connected to thetransmitting apparatus 100 from the remote controller 400.

Meanwhile, a data extraction unit extracts the control data from thereceived control signals and as shown in FIG. 4, can be configured of aband pass filter 230.

The band pass filter 230 can filter and extract data for controlling theexternal device 300 from the received infrared signals.

Meanwhile, the extracted control data may be converted into a wirelesslytransmittable format through the second signal processing unit 220 andthereafter, may be transmitted to the transmitting apparatus 100 throughthe second RF transmitting/receiving unit 210.

For example, the control data for the external device 300 may betransmitted to the transmitting apparatus 100 by using the wirelesscommunication scheme such as the WiHD, WHDi, WiFi, or the like.

Hereinafter, a method for processing a remote control signal accordingto an embodiment of the present invention will be described in moredetail with reference to FIGS. 5 to 9.

Below described is an example in which a control signal is transmittedand received between the remote controller 400 and the receivingapparatus 200 or between the transmitting apparatus 100 and the externaldevice 300 by using the infrared communication scheme. However, thepresent invention is not limited to the transmission and reception ofthe control signal using the infrared communication scheme and theremote control signal may be transmitted and received by using variouswireless communication methods. For example, the communication methodusing the RF signal, the optical signal, etc., in addition to theinfrared communication scheme.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for processing a remotecontrol signal according to an embodiment of the present invention. Themethod shown in FIG. 5 will be described by combining the receivingapparatus 200 shown in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 5, when the receiving unit 200 displays the externaldevice 300 that is connected to the transmitting apparatus by using adisplay unit (not shown) (S500).

For example, the transmitting apparatus 100 is connected to theplurality of external devices 300 and the receiving apparatus 200 canreceive information on each external device 300 from the transmittingapparatus 100.

In this case, the receiving apparatus 200 can receive the information onthe external devices from the transmitting apparatus 100 by using thewireless communication schemes such as WiHD, WHDi, WiFi, etc., and thedisplay unit (not shown) of the receiving apparatus 200 can display theexternal devices 300 connected to the transmitting apparatus 100 byusing the received information.

As described above, a method for allowing the receiving apparatus 200 todisplay the external devices that are connected to the transmittingapparatus 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 10 to16.

The receiving apparatus 200 selects any one of the displayed externaldevices 300 from a user (step 510). For example, the user can use theremote controller 400 to select the external devices to be controlledamong the displayed external devices 300 by using the remote controller400.

The IR receiving unit 240 receives the infrared signal transmitted fromthe remote controller 400 (step 520) and the received infrared signal isthe remote control signal for controlling the operation of the externaldevice 300 connected to the transmitting apparatus 100, that is, theexternal device selected at step 510.

For example, the remote controller 400 receives the key input forcontrolling the operation of the external device 300 connected to thetransmitting apparatus 100 from the user and generates and transmits theinfrared signal corresponding to the key input and the IR receiving unit240 of the receiving apparatus 200 can receive the infrared signaltransmitted from the remote controller 400.

A band pass filter 230 extracts data for controlling the operation ofthe external device 300 from the received infrared signal (step 530).

For example, the infrared signal received from the remote controller 400includes a leader code, a custom code, and a data code as data for thedata for controlling the external device 300 and more specifically, mayinclude the leader code, the custom code, a custom code verificationbyte, the data code, and a data code verification byte as shown in FIG.7.

Further, each of the codes may have data of 2 bytes, that is, 8 bits andthe infrared signal may include an ending signal bit 10

Meanwhile, the above-mentioned control data may be transmitted from theremote controller 400 to the receiving apparatus 200 with being loadedon a carrier signal having a predetermined frequency and a predeterminedduty ratio.

That is, the remote controller 400 may generate a baseband signal as thecontrol data corresponding to the operation of the external device 300that is input by the user and generate and transmit the infrared signalto the receiving apparatus 200 by synthesizing the baseband signal withthe carrier signal having the predetermined frequency and thepredetermined duty ratio.

Meanwhile, the carrier signal may have a frequency of 30 kHz to 60 kHzand a duty ratio of 1/2 to 1/3.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the infrared signalmay be transmitted by synthesizing the baseband signal including thecontrol data of the external device 300 with the carrier signal havingthe frequency of 37 kHz and the duty ratio 1/3.

For example, in the control data included in the baseband signal, theleader code may be constituted by a high of 9 ms and a low of 4.5 ms,bit ‘1 ’ may be constituted by a high of 0.56 ms and a low of 1.69 ms,and bit ‘0 ’ may be constituted by a high of 0.56 ms and a low of 0.565ms.

Meanwhile, the leader code, the custom code, and the data code mayconstitute one frame and the frame may be repeated at a cycle of 108 ms.

At step 530, the band pass filter 230 may extract the baseband signalincluding the control data for the external data 300 by filtering theinfrared signal received from the remote controller 400. The basebandsignal may be an envelope of the received infrared signal.

For example, the band pass filter 230 may be a 38 kHz band pass filter.Therefore, the band pass filter 230 may extract the control data forcontrolling the external device 300 by removing the carrier frequencyfrom the infrared signal inputted from the IR receiving unit 240 todetect only waveforms of the leader code, the custom code, and the datacode that are the baseband signals.

The second RF transmitting/receiving unit 210 wirelessly transmits thecontrol data of the external device 300 that is extracted from the bandpass filter 230 to the transmitting apparatus 100 (step 540).

For example, the second signal processing unit 220 may convert thecontrol data included in the baseband signal outputted from the bandpass filter 230, that is, the leader code, the custom code, and the datacode into data of a format that is wirelessly transmittable by using thepredetermined wireless communication scheme, i.e., the WiHD, the WHDi,the WiFi, or the like and output it to the second RFtransmitting/receiving unit 210.

The second RF transmitting/receiving unit 210 may wirelessly transmitthe control data of the external device 300 that is outputted from thesecond signal processing unit 220 to the transmitting apparatus 100.

As described above, the receiving apparatus 200 extracts the basebandsignal from the infrared signal received from the remote controller 400and wirelessly transmits only the control data of the external device300 that is included in the baseband signal to the transmittingapparatus 100 so as to reduce the amount of data wirelessly transmittedand received between the transmitting apparatus 100 and the receivingapparatus 200.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a remotecontrol signal according to an embodiment of the present invention andillustrates a method for the transmitting apparatus 100 to process thecontrol data of the external device 300 that wirelessly transmitted fromthe receiving apparatus 200 as described by referring to FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 6, a first RF transmitting/receiving unit 130 of thetransmitting apparatus 100 receives the control data of the externaldevice 300 that is wirelessly transmitted from the receiving apparatus200 (step 600). For example, the control data received into the first RFtransmitting/receiving unit 130 may be data included in the basebandsignal among the infrared signals received into the receiving apparatus200 from the remote controller 400 in order to control the externaldevice 300 connected to the transmitting apparatus 100.

Further, at step 600, the control data of the external device 300received from the receiving apparatus 200 may include the leader code,the custom code, and the data code.

An IR generation unit 140 generates the infrared signal that is theremote control signal for controlling the operation of the externaldevice 300 by using the control data received in the first RFtransmitting/receiving unit 130 (step 610).

For example, the IR generation unit 140 may generate the baseband signalincluding the control data of the received external device 300 andgenerate the infrared signal by synthesizing the generated basebandsignal with a carrier signal having a predetermined frequency and apredetermined duty ratio.

More specifically, the IR generation unit 140 may generate the basebandsignal to include the leader code, the custom code, and the data code ofthe control data received in the first RF transmitting/receiving unit130, and synthesize the generated baseband signal with a carrier signalhaving a frequency of 37 kHz and a duty ratio of 1/3 and outputsynthesized signal.

An IR transmitting unit 150 transmits the infrared signal generated atstep 610 to the external device 300 in order to control the operation ofthe external device 300 (step 620).

Therefore, the external device 300 may perform an operationcorresponding to the infrared signal received from the IR transmittingunit 150 of the transmitting apparatus 100.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of atransmitting/receiving system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. In components of the transmitting/receiving system shown inFIG. 8, the same components as ones described by referring to FIGS. 1 to7 will not be described below.

Referring to FIG. 8, a plurality of external devices 300, 310, and 320may be connected to the transmitting apparatus 100. The plurality ofexternal devices 300, 310, and 320 may be apparatuses that are connectedto the transmitting apparatus 100 to supply the media signals, forexample, the video signal and the audio signal to the transmittingapparatus 100.

Meanwhile, the external devices 300, 310, and 320 may be various devicesincluding a video playing device such a Dvix player, a blue-ray player,or the like, a set-top box such as an IPTV set-top box, a cable set-topbox, a satellite set-top box, or the like, a PC, a game machine, a hometheater, a portable terminal, a hard disk recorder, etc.

In this case, a user may perform key input for controlling the operationof any one of the plurality of external devices 300, 310, and 320 byusing the remote controller 400 and the remote controller 400 maygenerate an infrared signal corresponding to the user's key input andtransmit the generated infrared signal to the receiving apparatus 200.

As described above, the receiving apparatus 200 may extract the controldata for controlling the corresponding external device from the infraredsignal received from the remote controller 400 and transmit the controldata of the external device to the transmitting apparatus 100 by usingthe wireless communication scheme such as the WiHD, WHDi, WiFi, or thelike.

Meanwhile, when the received remote control signal is the signal forcontrolling the operation of the transmitting apparatus 100 or any oneof the plurality of external device 300, 310, and 320, the receivedremote control signal may be wirelessly transmitted to the transmittingapparatus 100 in addition to the apparatus identification information byusing the wireless communication scheme such as the WiHD, WHDi, WiFi, orthe like.

The transmitting apparatus 100 generates an infrared signal forcontrolling the corresponding external device by using the control datareceived from the receiving apparatus 200 and, for example, may generatethe infrared signal by synthesizing the baseband signal including thecontrol data with a carrier signal having a predetermined frequency anda predetermined duty ratio. Meanwhile, the transmitting apparatus 100may transmit the generated infrared signal to the corresponding externaldevice.

The transmitting apparatus 100 may verify which external device of theplurality of external devices 300, 310, and 320 the control data is usedto control by analyzing the received control data.

For example, the transmitting apparatus 100 generates the infraredsignal by using the received control data to transmit the generatedinfrared signal to the first external device 300 when the receivedcontrol data is used to control the first external device 300.

Meanwhile, in FIG. 8, one remote controller 400 is shown, but accordingto another embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of remotecontrollers corresponding to the plurality of external devices 300, 310,and 320, respectively, may be provided.

Accordingly, an infrared signal transmitted from a predetermined remotecontroller may be transmitted to an external device corresponding to theremote controller among the plurality of external devices 300, 310, and320 through the receiving apparatus 200 and the transmitting apparatus100.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of atransmitting/receiving system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. In components of the transmitting/receiving system shown inFIG. 9, the same components as ones described by referring to FIGS. 1 to8 will not be described below.

Referring to FIG. 9, a display apparatus 700 according to an embodimentof the present invention may include the receiving apparatus 200 havingthe above-mentioned configuration and a display module 710.

That is, the transmitting apparatus 100 receives the media signals fromthe external device 300 and wirelessly transmits the received mediasignal to the receiving apparatus 200 and the receiving apparatus 200provided in the display apparatus 700 processes the wirelesslytransmitted data into a video signal of a displayable format to outputthe processed data to the display module 710.

The display module 710 may display a video by using the video signalinputted from the receiving apparatus 200. For this, the display module710 may include display panels (not shown) of various display types suchas a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), anelectro luminescent display (ELD), a vacuum fluorescent display (VFD),etc.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an IR receivingunit 720 provided in the display apparatus 700 may receive the infraredsignal for controlling the external device 300 that is transmitted fromthe remote controller 400.

As described above, the receiving apparatus 200 provided in the displayapparatus 700 extracts the control data for the external device 300 fromthe infrared signal received from the remote controller 400 towirelessly transmit the extracted control data to the transmittingapparatus 100.

Referring to FIG. 10, the display module 710 may display an externaldevice control window 800 that displays information on the controllableexternal devices on a screen.

That is, a TV 1 810 and a TV 2 820 that are other display apparatusesconnected to the transmitting apparatus 100 by the wireless network, inaddition to the display apparatus 700, may be displayed on the externaldevice control window 800 and a media box 830 that is the transmittingapparatus 100, a DVD player 840 that is the external device 400connected to the media box, a satellite set-top box 850, etc., may bedisplayed on the external device control window 800.

The user may select an apparatus which he/she wants to control theoperation among the plurality of displayed external devices by using theremote controller 400, for example, the DVD player 840 connected to thetransmitting apparatus 100 and input the operation to be performed tothe selected external device, that is, the DVD player 840.

Meanwhile, the receiving apparatus 200 includes the display unit (notshown) to display the information on the above-mentioned externaldevices, for example, the external device control window 800 as shown inFIG. 10 by the display unit (not shown).

For this, the receiving apparatus 200 may receive the information on theexternal devices 400 connected to the transmitting apparatus 100 fromthe transmitting apparatus 100 by using the wireless network and displaythe information on the external devices 400 connected to thetransmitting apparatus 100 on the screen by using the receivedinformation.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling an externaldevice according to an embodiment of the present invention and themethod for controlling an external device that is shown in FIG. 11 willbe described by combining the block diagram shown in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 11, the second transmitting/receiving unit 210 of thereceiving apparatus 200 receives the output signal of the first externaldevice 300 from the transmitting apparatus 100 by selecting the firstexternal device 300 as the external input by the user (step 900).

For example, the transmitting apparatus 100 can receive the mediasignals from the first external device 300, for example, the videosignal and the audio signal and wirelessly transmit the signal inputfrom the first external device 300 to the receiving apparatus 200.

The user can request the display of the external input list to switchthe external input, more specifically, switch the external input duringthe wireless reception of the output signal of the first external device300.

Meanwhile, the external input list may include the information on theexternal devices connected to the transmitting apparatus 100.

As described above, when the switching of the external input isrequested (step 910), the second RF transmitting/receiving unit 210receives the information on the external devices 300, 310, and 320connected to the transmitting apparatus 100, for example, theinformation on the name or type of each external device 300, 310, and320 from the transmitting apparatus (step 920).

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the transmittingapparatus 100 may receive the identification information on the name ortype of the corresponding device from the connected external devices300, 310, and 320, convert the information on the input external devices300, 310, and 320 into a wireless transmittable format, and then,transmit it to the receiving apparatus 200 by using the wireless networksuch as WiHD, WHDi, WiFi, etc.

The receiving apparatus 200 displays the external input list by usingthe external devices 300, 310, and 320 received in the second RFtransmitting/receiving unit 210 to display the external input list (step930). For this, the receiving apparatus 200 may further include thedisplay unit (not shown).

For example, the displayed external input list may further includeinformation on one or more external devices (not shown) connected to thereceiving apparatus 200, in addition to the information on the externaldevices 300, 310, and 320 connected to the transmitting apparatus 100.

Therefore, the user can grasp the external devices 300, 310, and 320connected to the transmitting apparatus 100 and the external devices(not shown) connected to the receiving apparatus 200 by using thedisplayed external input list.

The user may switch the external input by using the displayed externalinput list and for example, request the switching of the external inputto the selected external device by selecting any one of the plurality ofexternal devices included in the external input list.

That is, the receiving apparatus selects the plurality of externaldevices included in the external input list, for example, the externaldevices 300, 310, and 320 connected to the transmitting apparatus 100and any one of the external devices (not shown) connected to thereceiving apparatus 200 from the user (step 940).

Referring to FIG. 12, icons 1001, 1002, and 1003 corresponding to theexternal devices (not shown) connected to the receiving apparatus 200may be displayed on the external input list 1000 and at the same time,icons 1004, 1005, and 1006 corresponding to the external devices 300,310, and 320 connected to the transmitting apparatus 100 may bedisplayed on the external input list 1000.

As shown in FIG. 12, the icons 1001, 1002, and 1003 corresponding to theexternal devices (not shown) of the receiving apparatus 200 and theicons 1004, 1005, and 1006 corresponding to the external devices of thetransmitting apparatus 100 may be displayed to be differentiated fromeach other.

The user selects any one of the icons 1001 to 1006 displayed on theexternal input list 1000 to select the external device to be switched.

For example, the user may select any one of the icons 1001, 1002, and1003 corresponding to the external devices of the receiving apparatus200 and switch the external input to the external device correspondingto the selected icon among the plurality of external devices (not shown)connected to the receiving apparatus 200, not the transmitting apparatus100.

In addition, the user may select any one of the icons 1004, 1005, and1006 corresponding to the external devices of the transmitting apparatus100 and switch the external input of the transmitting apparatus 100 tothe external device corresponding to the selected icon among theplurality of external devices 300, 310, and 320.

The name or type of the external devices 300, 310, and 320 connected tothe transmitting apparatus 100 and the external devices (not shown)connected to the receiving apparatus 200, respectively, may be displayedon the icons 1001 to 1006 of the external input list 1000.

As described above, when the external device selection using theexternal input list of the user completes, it is determined whether theselected external device is the external device connected to thetransmitting device 100 (step 950).

When the external device selected by the user is the external deviceconnected to the transmitting apparatus 100, the second RFtransmitting/receiving unit 210 transmits the information on theselected external device to the transmitting apparatus 100 (step 960).

For example, the second RF transmitting and receiving unit 210 maywirelessly transmit the identification information on the selectedexternal device to the transmitting apparatus 100 by using the wirelessnetwork such as WiHD, WHDi, WiFi, etc., to request the switching of theexternal input to the selected external device.

Thereafter, the second RF transmitting and receiving unit 210 receivesthe signal output from the selected external device from thetransmitting apparatus 100 (step 970).

For example, the transmitting apparatus 100, that receives theinformation on the external information selected by the user, ends theconnection with the currently connected first external device 300 byusing the interface unit 100 and connects with the selected externaldevice to switch the external input.

The transmitting apparatus 100 can wirelessly transmit the signal inputfrom the switched external device, in more detail, the video signal andthe audio signal to the receiving apparatus 200 by using the first RFtransmitting and receiving unit 130.

Meanwhile, when the external device selected by the user is not theexternal device connected to the transmitting apparatus 100, that is,when the external device selected by the user is the external deviceconnected to the receiving apparatus 200, the receiving apparatus 200performs the switching of the external input to the selected externaldevice (step 980).

In more detail, the interface unit (not shown) included in the receivingapparatus 200 ends the connection with the existing transmittingapparatus 100 through the wireless network and connects with theexternal device selected by the user to receive the video signal and theaudio signal from the switched external device.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the user uses thedisplayed external input list 1000 to select the external device to becontrolled. In other words, the user may select any one of the icons1001 to 1006 included in the external input list 1000 to select thedesired external device among the external devices 300, 301, and 320connected to the transmitting apparatus 100 and the external devices(not shown) connected to the receiving apparatus 200 and may select theoperation of the selected external device by using the remote controller400.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of atransmitting/receiving system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. In components of the transmitting/receiving system shown inFIG. 13, the same components as ones described by referring to FIGS. 1to 12 will not be described below.

Referring to FIG. 13, the plurality of external devices 300, 310, and320 may be connected to the transmitting apparatus 100 and thetransmitting apparatus 100 and the transmitting apparatus 100 and theplurality of external devices 330, 340, 350, and 360 may also beconnected to the display apparatus 700.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the display module710 provided in the display apparatus 700 may display the external inputlist that includes the information on the external devices 330, 340,350, and 360 connected to the display apparatus 700 and the informationon the external devices 300, 310, and 320 connected to the transmittingapparatus 100.

Referring to FIG. 14, the external input list 1000 may divide anddisplay the information on the external devices 330, 340, 350, and 360connected to the display device 700 and the information on the externaldevices 300, 310, and 320 connected to the transmitting apparatus 100.

For example, the icons 1001, 1022, 1023 corresponding to the externaldevices 300, 310, and 320 of the transmitting apparatus 100 may beincluded and displayed in a subs list 1010 of an item called “Tx” andthe icons 1021, 1022, 1023, and 1024 corresponding to the externaldevices 330, 340, 350, and 360 connected to the display apparatus 700may be included and displayed in a sub list 1020 of an item called “TV”.

The user may select any one of the icons 1011, 1012, and 1013 includedin the “Tx” sub list 1010 to select the external device to be switchedamong the external devices 300, 310, and 320 connected to thetransmitting apparatus 100 and may select any one of the icons 1021,1022, 1023, and 1024 included in the “TV” sub list 1020 to select theexternal device to be switched among the external devices 330, 340, 350,and 360 connected to the display apparatus 700.

Referring to FIG. 15, the user may use selection buttons 1014 and 1025displayed on the external input list 1000 to select the external devices330, 340, 350, and 360 connected to the display apparatus 700 and theexternal devices 300, 310, and 320 connected to the transmittingapparatus 100.

In other words, as shown in FIG. 15, when the user selects a “TV”button, the icons 1021, 1022, 1023, and 1024 corresponding to theexternal devices of the display apparatus 700 may be displayed on theselection window 1030 and the user may select any one of the icons 1021,1022, 1023, and 1024 displayed on the selection window to select theexternal device to be switched among the external devices 330, 340, 350,and 360 connected to the display apparatus 700.

Meanwhile, when the user selects a “TX” button, the icons 1011, 1012,and 1013 corresponding to the external devices of the transmittingapparatus 100 may be displayed on the selection window 1030 and the usermay select any one of the icons 1011, 1012, and 1013 displayed on theselection window 1030 to select the external input to be switched amongthe external devices 300, 310, and 320 connected to the transmittingapparatus 100.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of atransmitting/receiving system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. In components of the transmitting/receiving system shown inFIG. 16, the same components as ones described by referring to FIGS. 1to 15 will not be described below.

Referring to FIG. 16, the transmitting apparatus 100 may be connected tothe plurality of receiving apparatuses 200, 210, and 220 by the wirelessnetwork. That is, the transmitting apparatus 100 converts the mediasignal received from at least one of the plurality of external devices300, 310, and 320 into the wireless transmittable data and then,wirelessly transmits it at least one of to the plurality of receivingapparatuses 200, 210, and 220.

For example, the transmitting apparatus 100 may select one or morereceiving apparatus to receive the media signal among the plurality ofreceiving apparatuses 200, 210, and 220 from the user and wirelesslytransmit the media signal received from the outside to the receivingapparatus selected by the user.

For this, the transmitting apparatus 100 may include a plurality ofwireless transmitting units (not shown) corresponding to each of theplurality of receiving apparatuses 200, 210, and 220 and each of theplurality of wireless transmitting units (not shown) may wirelesslytransmit the video and audio data to the corresponding receivingapparatus.

Wireless communication protocols for transmitting and receiving data maybe identical with each other or different from each other in each of theplurality of receiving apparatuses 200, 210, and 220. For example, thewireless communication protocols for each of the plurality of receivingapparatuses 200, 210, and 220 to receive data may be set to be differentfrom each other according to the performance, installation position,etc. of each of the plurality of receiving apparatuses 200, 210, and220.

Meanwhile, the transmitting apparatus 100 may include the number smallerthan the number of the plurality of receiving apparatuses 200, 210, and220, for example, one wireless transmitting unit (not shown). In thiscase, the transmitting apparatus 100 may wirelessly transmit data byusing a multi-channel communication, that is, each of the plurality ofreceiving apparatuses 200, 210, and 220.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, each of theplurality of receiving apparatuses 200, 210, and 220 may receive theinformation on the external devices 300, 310, and 320 connected to thetransmitting apparatus 100 from the transmitting apparatus 100.

Meanwhile, each of the receiving apparatuses 200, 210, and 220 maydisplay the external input list that includes the information on theexternal devices 300, 301, and 320 connected to the transmittingapparatus 100 and the information on the external devices (not shown)connected to the receiving apparatus, by using the information on thereceived external devices 300, 310, and 320.

Therefore, the user may switch the external input of each receivingapparatus by using the external input list displayed in each of thereceiving apparatuses 200, 210, and 220.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the receivingapparatus receives the remote control signal for the external deviceconnected to the transmitting apparatus and wireless transmits thereceived remote control signal to the transmitting apparatus to controlthe external device, such that the user of the receiving apparatus cancontrol the external devices included in the transmitting/receivingsystem by the remote control device such as the remote controller, etc.,thereby making it possible to improve the convenience of user.

In addition, a method for controlling an external device according tothe present invention may be stored in a computer-readable recordingmedium by being produced as a program to be executed in a computer. Anexample of the computer-readable recording medium may include a ROM, aRAM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storage,etc.

Further, the computer-readable recording media are distributed oncomputer systems connected through the network, and thus thecomputer-readable recording media may be stored and executed as thecomputer-readable code by a distribution scheme. Further, functionalprograms, codes, and code segments for implementing a method ofreceiving broadcast can be easily inferred by programmers in the relatedart.

Also, the devices described above may include one or more controllers toexecute the methods described herein.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated and described, the present invention is not limited to theabove-mentioned embodiments and various modified embodiments can beavailable by those skilled in the art without the scope of the appendedclaims of the present invention. In addition, these modified embodimentsshould not be appreciated separately from technical spirits orprospects.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for controlling, by a display device,operations of at least one data relay or data storage device connectedto a remote transmitting device, comprising: wirelessly receiving, inthe display device, a user-generated control signal from a remotecontroller; wirelessly transmitting a corresponding device controlsignal from the display device to the at least one data relay or datastorage device via the transmitting device; and wirelessly receiving inthe display device and from the transmitting device, and thendisplaying, at least one of information about the at least one datarelay or data storage device, contents of the at least one data relay ordata storage device, information about the contents of the at least onedata relay or data storage device, broadcast data received by the atleast one data relay or data storage device, and information about thebroadcast data.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps ofwirelessly transmitting the device control signal and wirelesslyreceiving from the transmitting device include receiving andtransmitting via at least one of WiHD, WHDi, and WiFi.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one data relay or data storage deviceincludes at least two data relay or data storage devices, and whereinthe step of wirelessly receiving and then displaying includes wirelesslyreceiving and then displaying a list of the at least two data relay ordata storage devices connected to the remote transmitting device.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, further comprising: generating a selection signal inresponse to a selection of a first of the at least two data relay ordata storage devices in response to a user selection received from theremote controller.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:transmitting the selection signal to the transmitting device in order toswitch an external input of the transmitting device to the first of theat least two data relay or data storage devices from another of the atleast two data relay or data storage devices.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the user-generated control signal is one of an infrared signal,an RF signal, and an optical signal.
 7. A display device configured tocontrol operations of at least one data relay or data storage deviceconnected to a remote transmitting device, comprising: a display; aremote control interface unit configured to wirelessly receive auser-generated control signal from a remote controller; a wirelesscommunication unit configured to wirelessly communicate with thetransmitting device; and a controller operatively connected to thedisplay, the remote control interface unit and the wirelesscommunication unit, the controller configured to wirelessly transmit acorresponding device control signal to the at least one data relay ordata storage device via the transmitting device; and wirelessly receivefrom the transmitting device, and then display, at least one ofinformation about the at least one data relay or data storage device,contents of the at least one data relay or data storage device,information about the contents of the at least one data relay or datastorage device, broadcast data received by the at least one data relayor data storage device, and information about the broadcast data.
 8. Thedisplay device of claim 7, wherein the wireless communication unit isconfigured to communicate via at least one of WiHD, WHDi, and WiFi. 9.The display device of claim 7, wherein the at least one data relay ordata storage device includes at least two data relay or data storagedevices, and wherein the controller is configured to wirelessly receiveand then display a list of the at least two data relay or data storagedevices connected to the remote transmitting device.
 10. The displaydevice of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to generate aselection signal in response to a selection of a first of the at leasttwo data relay or data storage devices in response to a user selectionreceived from the remote controller.
 11. The display device of claim 10,wherein the controller is configured to transmit the selection signal tothe transmitting device in order to switch an external input of thetransmitting device to the first of the at least two data relay or datastorage devices from another of the at least two data relay or datastorage devices.
 12. The display device of claim 9, wherein theuser-generated control signal is one of an infrared signal, an RFsignal, and an optical signal.